Latin club returns after trip to Italy
March 23, 2017
For senior Sal Alu, going to Italy was like going home.
Alu, along with 15 other students, visited Italy with the Latin club over spring break. The group departed from St. Louis for Chicago on March 11. From there, they flew to London, then to Italy.
Latin teacher Sarah Schmidt led the trip, accompanied by Campus Ministry director Michael Callahan and counselor Mary Riney. She saw the trip as an opportunity for the students to experience a new culture.
“They get to learn and understand more about the way the world is outside of St. Louis,” Schmidt said. “It was also an opportunity for them to meet new people in a culture that they don’t see a lot of at home.”
The culture, however, was not all that new to Alu. He grew up in an Italian family surrounded by Italian food and customs, though he had never visited the place that his family calls home.
“It was like a taste of what I am used in my family,” Alu said. “Seeing it all and being able to take it in made me appreciate where I came from a lot more.”
The group visited various locations throughout Italy. They started in Venice, and from there went to Florence, Pisa, Assisi St. Francis, St. Peter’s, Pompeii and Rome.
“All the sightseeing were really fun activities,” Schmidt said. “They got to learn all about Italian history and culture.”
The flew out of Rome and arrived back in St. Louis on March 19. Alu looks backs on the trip and sees it as a return to familiar roots.
“I learned a lot about my background,” Alu said, “and the fact that I was able to understand, teach others and share the cultural lessons made the trip even more worthwhile.”
